Some circuit design tools provide functions for entering and editing circuit designs, managing different projects, simulating the circuit design, and generating data leading to a realization of the circuit design. In order to provide circuit developers with a wide range of simulation options, some vendors of circuit design tools have integrated different simulators into their circuit design tools. Certain simulators may be better suited for certain circuit applications than other simulators. Also, different circuit developers may prefer different simulators.
Current approaches for integrating simulators into electronic circuit designs may be problematic in that maintenance costs may be increased and bug fixes may not be timely. A current approach for integrating a simulator into a circuit design tool, which provides functions beyond simulation to a designer, entails linking the functions of the simulator to the interface and functions of the design tool with program code that is compiled along with the program code that implements the design tool. In approaches in which linking simulators to a design tool requires compilation of the design tool, maintenance costs will be increased because the party responsible for the design tool will be forced to rebuild the design tool with each new release of an integrated simulator. Also, if a problem is discovered in a simulator, providing a new version of the simulator to an end-user may be delayed, because different parties may be responsible for the correct operation of the different simulators and circuit design tool, and the design tool would need to be rebuilt to integrate the new version of the simulator.